Big Improvements in Mobile Outlook / Dynamics 365 Integration

Now you can track emails in Dynamics 365 anytime, anywhere.

I was out of the office the other day when I received a couple emails I wanted to 1) track within Dynamics 365, and/or 2) create new Lead records for. If you’ve tried the same thing on your phone in the past, you know what a pain it was. Not any more. With the Microsoft Dynamics 365 App for Outlook, you can track emails anytime, anywhere.

Before the new app, the only way to do what I wanted was to install the CRM For Outlook plug-in (NOTE: You may know it as The Outlook Client). The plug-in was buggy, slowed-down Outlook considerably, and frequently crashed it. And oh yeah, Outlook had to actually be running to track emails — either automatically or manually.

Instead of a plug-in that has to be downloaded, installed and configured by each user, the 365 App for Outlook can be centrally-deployed by Admins. All end-users have to do now is just sign-in.

Back to my storyA buddy invited me to lunch with a friend of his who might be a good prospect for 2B. Right there on my phone, I was able to track the emails and create a new lead directly from my mobile device in less than 60 seconds.

(Hopefully the 4 screen shots below, taken on my iPhone 6, will provide an easy step-by-step guide for you to do it yourself.

It really is easy. But there is one caveat: You have to use the Outlook App, not your device’s native email client. Which certainly wasn’t a problem for me. I’ve been using Outlook on my phone for a while now, and I think it’s fantastic. This new plug-in is just one more reason I recommend it over your native mail App.

Now I can easily track emails and create new Dynamics 365 records with just a few taps on my phone — no matter where I am, no matter what time of day. Which is great because, if you asked me, that whole Good Night’s Sleep thing is really over-rated. 😉